Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill: Nightmare School for Bitching and Dysmorphia

The story is set in a horrific girl’s finishing school, where protagonist, freida is born to be brainwashed into being the ‘perfect’ eve. In other words, to be as close to a showroom dummy as possible: impassive, slim and obedient. Not even their names deserve to be capitalized.

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Novel about and Anorexia and Dysmorphia

This novel is making an important point about society’s pressures on women to be perfect in looks and behaviour. And so we are showered with descriptions of what the eves are wearing, their bitching and competitiveness as they dine at the low-carb table. At times, these descriptions repeat somewhat and I found myself gleaning, getting the point.

But soon, the eves are to graduate via a ‘ceremony’ where ‘inheritants’, (young boys) will pick the best of the eves to become their companions. The leftovers will be scrapped to become concubines or chastities or worse, cast to the Underground.

Freida is not too bright, allowing herself to become a victim of the system and making dumb choices throughout the novel. Her nasty guardian, chastity-ruth constantly makes freida’s life a misery. The only eve to act against the grain, is freida’s best friend, isobel. She puts on weight and rebels against the system. But there is more to isobel than meets the eye, which is revealed at the end.

Society’s Pressures on Women

Echoing of 1984 and the Stepford Wives, this is a chilling account of mass brainwashing where covert bullying is rife between the eves. Nasty megan is textbook, as well as her henchgirls, the robotic twins who are as nasty as they come.

Freida has her chance in Darwin, an inheritant who appears to want to choose her as his companion. But dumb freida does it again, when she betrays Darwin to megan who is as treacherous as a bag of snakes. Why? The mind boggles!

This novel makes an important point for every teenage girl who feels worthless, but freida’s wantonly victim behaviour is frustrating to live through, and the ending left me feeling bereft. There was no hope on the horizon or of change. Only total despair. Even 1984 had more hope to offer.

I couldn’t feel sorry for freida, because I prefer to live a story through the eyes of someone with a little more clout or intelligence, or something to yield the smallest surprise.

A novel with something to say but hardly uplifting.